Session 4: Social problems and issues Flashcards
What is a social problem?
Something that has been labelled as undesirable by an individual or group of people.
Discuss the nature of DRUG addiction and its patterns of use.
- Euphoric effect.
- Artificial feeling of wellbeing and contentment.
- Body resistance
- Tolerable, consequently increase in dosage=same effect.
- Physiological & psychological dependence.
- Withdrawal=p&p reactions.
- Severity > type, quantity & duration of use.
- May result in death.
- Uniform progression of usage.
- Sequential and cumulative.
What are the 7 causes of DRUG abuse and addiction?
- Peer groups
- The school environment
- The work environment
- Role changes
- Family networks, interaction & home environment
- Events of life
- Personality
Discuss peer groups as a cause of drug abuse.
- Subgroup
- Behaviour manifestation
- Drugs readily available
- Experimenting
Discuss the school environment as a cause of drug abuse.
- Formal and impersonal
- Constant evaluation and pressures
- Drugs = coping mechanism
- Addiction
- Poor past school grades
Discuss the work environment as a cause for drug abuse.
- Tension, anxiety, stress, frustration
- Drugs readily available,e.g health worker in a hospital
Discuss family networks, interaction & home environment as a cause of drug use.
- Substance-abusing parents=family problems.
- One generational abuse= teenager reports emotional
stress - Poor parent-child attachment
- Poor home support
Discuss role change as a cause of drug addiction.
- Difficulty to perform towards expectations
- Role pressures
- Difficulty in coping with new roles
Discuss events of life as a cause for drug abuse.
- Negative life events
- Lack of support
Discuss personality as a cause of drug abuse.
- Introversion
- Need for recognition
What is the nature of alcohol addiction and patterns of alcohol use?
- Signs: drowsiness, lack of conc. & slow thinking
- Over-drinking
- Disengagement of social interactions personally and non-personally
- Large amounts consumed
- Tolerance; smaller amounts = loss of motor coordination.
- Continued use
- Women > older alcoholics + preceding disruptive life events
- Men> recreational
What are the 8 causes of ALCOHOL abuse?
- Stress and events of life
- Size of the family
- Ambivalence about drinking
- Availability of alcoholic beverages
- Norms
- Family experience
- Powerlessness
- Social change
Discuss norms as a cause for alcohol abuse.
- Influence of friends
- Unclarified norms
Discuss family experiences as a cause for alcohol abuse.
- Parents act as models for their children
- Lack of family cohesion= relapse
Discuss social change as a cause for alcohol abuse.
- Increase in stress
Discuss the availability of alcoholic beverages as a cause of alcohol abuse.
- High availability
- Low alcohol beverages
Discuss powerlessness as a cause for alcohol abuse.
- False confidence is gained
Discuss ambivalence about drinking as a cause for alcohol abuse.
- Disagreements between parents about alcohol usage
- Increased tension & frustration
Discuss stress and events of life as a cause of alcohol abuse.
- PMS
- Undesirable life events
- Financial, academic & family stress
Discuss the size of the family as a cause for alcohol abuse.
- Youngest most subject
- Fighting for attention
- Confusion bc of role models’ different ideologies
What are the 7 consequences and effects of substance abuse and addiction?
- Physical health
- Psychological wellbeing
- Interpersonal relationships
- Cognitive abilities
- Motor coordination
- Economic and future prospects
- Role expectations and general behaviour
Discuss the effect of alcohol on physical health.
- Malnutrition
- Infection = more illnesses
- Anaemia
- Difficulty to perform daily tasks
- Degenerative effect
- Vitamin B complex
- Needles
- Cirrhosis (liver)
- Brain ages prematurely
- Neutralises medicinal effect
- Overdose
- FAS (foetal alcohol syndrome) * brain damage
- Withdrawal symptoms of baby
Name the 5 effects of alcohol on psychological wellbeing.
- Stress and anxiety
- Depression
- Suicide
- Personality and behavioral changes
- Aggression, compulsivity, bad manners, phobias
Discuss the effect of alcohol on interpersonal relationships.
- Withdrawal from relationships
- Cannot juggle substances and familial relationships
- Addiction concealing
- Relationships with other substance users are developed
- Difficulty to live up to family’s expectations
- Conflict and suicide
Discuss the effect of alcohol on cognitive abilities.
- Memory impairment & problem-solving skills
- Negative effect on academics and decision-making
Discuss the effect of alcohol on motor coordination.
- Impaired critical alertness
- Increased risk of self-injury & injury of others
Discuss the effect of alcohol on economic and future prospects.
- Difficulty to keep a job/ expulsion
- Psychological, emotional & economic consequences
Discuss the effect of alcohol on role expectations and general behavior.
- Aggression and moodiness
- Disinterest in personal hygiene
- Withdrawal from interaction
- Neglecting of parental & marital roles
- Mugging & stealing
- Prostitution
- Fleeing from home
What is the doctor’s 5 roles in dealing with addiction and substance abuse?
- Addiction is a disease: doctor gives medical input in treating the patient
- Diagnosis is given
- Aware of treatment options available, e.g in-patient/outpatient @ rehab, AND is familiar with admission procedures
- Must be careful not to substitute one substance with another addictive substance
- Should be able to co-work with other disciplinaries, e.g social workers, spiritual leaders & psychologists
What is stigmatisation?
Any condition, feature, or characteristic that individuals regard as culturally unacceptable or inferior.
What is the difference between discrediting and discreditable stigma?
Discrediting stigma:
- Clearly visible disfigurement or disability.
- Impression management
- Covering
Discreditable stigma:
- Undesired difference isn’t visible
- Hiding of attribute is possible
- Information management
- Passing(hiding) and withdrawal(withdrawal from social interactions)
Give a full example of discrediting stigma.
- A person with an amputated limb (legs) and is in a wheelchair will use a blanket to cover up.
- The person will try to engage in normal social activities and cope on an impression management basis in order to lower the chances of being humiliated.
Give a full example of discreditable stigma.
- A person with a mental illness, where hiding the characteristic is highly possible.
- Cope on an information management basis
- Only limited people know about the stigma.
- Passing (hides trait) and withdrawal (withdraws from social contacts to avoid “being exposed”).
What is the difference between enacted and felt stigma?
Enacted stigma:
- Discrimination & prejudice as a result of a specific condition
- Examples: albinism; epilepsy
Felt stigma:
- Fear of enacted stigma/discrimination & prejudice
- Examples: managing certain conditions in avoidance of discrimination
What are the social consequences of stigmatisation?
[Labeling Approach]
- People are identified as deviant
- Health workers have control over health status; can label people as sickly(physically+mentally)
- Social statuses change how others treat us and how we treat ourselves
- Social expectation of an individual to conform to stereotype(label)
- Labels become self-fulfilling
- Person must deal with medical+social consequences of the disease
- diminishes willingness to seek medical + social help
